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State of the Re:Union on AM 1370

State of the Re:Union on AM 1370

Sun, 05/02/2010 - 10:00pm

Pictured: Host Al Letson

Host Al Letson travels the country to tell the stories of people coming together.

In State of the Re:Union, Public Radio Talent Quest winner Al Letson travels the country to find real stories of people working to make homes, lives and neighborhoods across the country. State of the Re:Union explores the resonating themes, stories, challenges and cultural components that create communities across the country and celebrate the commonality that links us as a people. Letson brings his formidable stage and poetry slam skills to the mic in each episode. State of the Re:Union airs Sundays at 10 p.m., beginning May 2 on AM 1370/FM-HD91.5-2.

Episode descriptions and air dates:

Brooklyn airs Sunday, May 2 at 10 p.m. Brooklyn is New York's most populous borough, and it's ever evolving. From a bastion of industry, to a refuge for immigrants from around the world, and now, in parts at least, to high rises condos and gentrification. This episode of State of the Re:Union charts Brooklyn's evolution, and celebrates the diverse communities and community gathering spots of many of its residents.

Greensburg, Kansas - To the Stars through Difficulties airs Sunday, May 9 at 10 p.m. On one night in May of 2007, a tornado wiped Greensburg, Kansas off the map. The town's residents have decided to not only resurrect the town, but to rebuild in a true spirit of renewal. State of the Re:Union examines the profound devastation and the rigors and rewards of this innovative rebirth.

Timbertown, Oregon airs Sunday, May 16 at 10 p.m. Back in the timber industry's heyday, small mill towns in Oregon were thriving. Business was booming. Then in the early 1990s, the saws stopped. The mills shut down and their economies crumbled. State of the Re:Union surveys how a town, that has lost its identity, reinvents itself.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin airs Sunday, May 23 at 10 p.m. Once the toolbox to the world, Milwaukee has suffered the fate of many American rust belt cities. But despite shuttered businesses, and high unemployment rates, Milwaukee and its resilient people are poised for a rebirth. State of the Re:Union visits Milwaukee to explore it's industrial past and to learn of its post-industrial future.

New Orleans, Louisiana airs Sunday, May 30 at 10 p.m.The city of New Orleans is as proud of its traditions as it is steeped in them. But since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the city and its residents have been thrust into new relationships with those very traditions they hold so dear. State of the Re:Union visits the Big Easy to explore how the city is negotiating that tension between the old and the new — from music to po boys to combating crime — five years after the storm.